Lockdown is over and for lots of us life is returning to some sort of “normal”. But for many Australians living with a chronic illness or disability, social isolation is still their main way of staying healthy and safe, and the challenges posed by the virus are far from over.
People with disability are facing financial hardship and going days without food during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research reveals. A survey from People with Disability Australia (PWDA) found that nine in 10 people with disability have experienced increased expenses due to the ongoing pandemic.
The main message of this report is that urgent action is needed to attend to the many inequities that people with disability and their families and carers face on a daily basis. Without movement on these issues, any future widespread emergencies will again produce substantial destabilisation for these households, with similarly detrimental impacts. This report sets out the key findings of the survey, devised by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA), that captures the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and their families and identifies unmet needs for resources and information as well as identifying areas requiring responses and future research priorities.
Australians with disability represent some of the most excluded of all Australians in relation to the impacts of coronavirus. At the same time, many people with disability are particularly at risk from COVID-19, because of barriers that exist to inclusion, and the need for ongoing support. This report sets out the findings from a survey that asked 200 people with disability about their experiences over the last two months.
Mary Sayers, CYDA’s chief executive, said that ‘‘all responses to a crisis such as COVID-19 must be designed to avoid creating further educational and social disconnection and inequality’’.
This research provides insight into the impacts of COVID-19 on people with disability and offers some directions for recovery post-COVID The COVID-19 pandemic poses immediate risks for people with disability and their families and carers who experience higher vulnerability to COVID-19 due to pre-existing health conditions and reliance on support workers and disruption to essential supports and services particularly for those who struggle online. Some of the key actions include embedding strong governance and co-design by people with disability across all public policy and investing in community-based solutions which maximise existing resources and build inclusion.
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM says healthcare rationing disproportionately affects people with disabilities but the disparity is often quietly swept under the rug.
We are all struggling right now with how to assess risks, both for ourselves individually and for society as a whole. The stakes are extremely high. But one of the few advantages disabled people have during this pandemic is that we understand risk better than most. We live and work with it every day of our lives.
Disability pensioners are turning to lawyers to fight for access to the JobSeeker payment, as recipients reveal they have had to skip meals and even stop taking medication during the pandemic.
Someone in my home got the dreaded phone call last week – he’d been exposed to COVID-19 and needed to self-isolate. And to my extreme shock, all our contingency plans actually worked as intended!
The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying inequalities experienced by the world’s one billion people with disabilities, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in launching a report issued on Wednesday that calls for a disability-inclusive recovery and response to the crisis.
While the COVID-19 pandemic threatens all members of society, persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted due to attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers that are reproduced in the COVID-19 response. This guidance note sets out key actions Governments and stakeholders can take to support people with disabilities during the pandemic.
Researchers at UNSW Sydney spoke to 2,341 disability workers about their experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak, and found that many felt anxious and unsafe while working.
This led me to thinking about how the current environment is leading to disability accommodations becoming widely available, not because of some ethical awakening or increased empathy but because now everyone is disabled. If we follow the logic of the social model of disability, we are now working in an environment that is not ideal for the vast majority rather than an unseen minority. Allow me to expand on that for you by giving you some examples.
People with disability are paying 10 per cent extra for support services because of coronavirus. National Disability Insurance Agency chief Martin Hoffman confirmed the 10 per cent loading fee while appearing before a Senate committee on Thursday. People with disability have not had their plans increased by the same amount.